Note to journalists: To arrange interviews or for complete biographies of award recipients, please contact the Cal State L.A. Public Affairs office at (323) 343-3050.
Cal State L.A. to honor Gardena school principal, Pasadena Unified superintendent at 20th Annual Distinguished Educator fete Oct. 30
Los Angeles, CA – Antonio José Camacho, principal of 135th Street School in Gardena, and Edwin Diaz, superintendent of the Pasadena Unified School District, will be honored for decades of leadership and service at Cal State L.A.’s 20th Annual Distinguished Educator Award Dinner Friday, Oct. 30.
Sponsored by the Friends of the Charter College of Education at Cal State L.A., the event will be held at the Golden Eagle Ballroom on the Cal State L.A. campus, beginning with a reception at 5 p.m. followed by a dinner at 6 p.m.
Antonio José Camacho, principal, 135th Street School
Camacho became principal of 135th Street Elementary School in 2000. Over his 36-year career, he has also been a bilingual teacher, coordinator for Title I and bilingual programs, a teacher advisor and priority staffing advisor for the Los Angeles Unified School District. He is currently state president for the Association of Mexican-American Educators (AMAE), which is committed to ensuring equal access to a quality education for Mexican American/Latino students. Camacho has led AMAE to collaborate with the Council of Mexican American Administrators on efforts to initiate professional development programs for teachers, parents and community members.
Edwin Diaz, superintendent, Pasadena Unified School District
Since March 2007, Diaz has been superintendent for the Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD). His more than 30 years of experience in California public schools includes working as a social science teacher and head varsity football coach. As superintendent of Gilroy Unified School District, he was credited for reversing the district’s three-year trend of declining test scores—and for improving student performance while improving the satisfaction of staff, parents, and the community. The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce selected him as Educator of the Year in 2002.
The Friends of the Charter College of Education is a group of alumni, educators and community members who support scholarships for students in Cal State L.A.’s teacher-preparation and school administrator programs and other activities.
All proceeds from the awards dinner will support the Friends’ Scholarship Endowment and Faculty Development funds. For details, call the Cal State L.A. Charter College of Education Development Office at 323-343-4446.
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Working for California since 1947: The 175-acre hilltop campus of California State University, Los Angeles is at the heart of a major metropolitan city, just five miles from Los Angeles’ civic and cultural center. More than 20,000 students and 210,000 alumni—with a wide variety of interests, ages and backgrounds—reflect the city’s dynamic mix of populations. Six Colleges offer nationally recognized science, arts, business, criminal justice, engineering, nursing, education and humanities programs, among others, led by an award-winning faculty. Cal State L.A. is home to the critically-acclaimed Luckman Jazz Orchestra and to a unique university center for gifted students as young as 12. Programs that provide exciting enrichment opportunities to students and community include an NEH- and Rockefeller-supported humanities center; a NASA-funded center for space research; and a growing forensic science program, housed in the Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center. www.calstatela.edu